On April 11, 2000, two-year-old Phanupong Khaisri, known
as Got, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport as a prop
in an international human trafficking scheme. Immigration and
Naturalization Service inspectors discovered that the man and
woman traveling with Got were not his parents but smugglers.
Got was not their child but a helpless victim, "rented" by his
birth mother for use in a human trafficking operation. Using
the boy as a decoy, the couple posed as a vacationing family
in an effort to traffic the woman into the United States,
reportedly to work as a prostitute.

When he entered the United States, Got was desperately
ill, suffering from a severe ear infection and chicken pox.
He was hospitalized, and medical tests revealed that he is
HIV-positive.

Stories like Got's can't help but move us. They appeal
not just to our principles as a nation but to our compassion
as a people. Like so many victims of human trafficking, Got
is a confused and isolated figure adrift in a complex legal
system. His father committed suicide shortly after Got was
born. His mother, a convicted prostitute who "rented" him to
traffickers, has relinquished her parental rights. His
paternal grandmother, a convicted heroin trafficker, now seeks
his return.

I met this morning with Got, his court-appointed
guardians, and leaders of the Thai community here in Los
Angeles. I also met some of the dedicated men and women who
have committed themselves to assisting the victims of human
trafficking. All Americans should be aware of the work they
do and the sacrifices they make to ease the suffering of
people who are strangers to them, but who are fellow human
beings deserving of compassion and assistance. Many of these
groups have been key players in caring for and advocating for
Got since he arrived in the United States. On behalf of the
Department of Justice I want to thank them for their service.

In immigration matters, the Attorney General has the sole
authority to determine who speaks for and acts on behalf of a
child. Absent unusual circumstances, a parent should be
recognized as the appropriate person to represent the child.
This is consistent with the position previously adopted by the
Department of Justice in this case. In my view, however, this
case presents an extremely unusual and tragic circumstance
that does not lend itself to the ordinary application of this
important principle.

After careful consideration, I have decided to exercise
the discretion accorded to me under the immigration laws and
grant Got humanitarian parole. This discretionary authority
allows me to parole individuals into this country for urgent
humanitarian reasons. I am exercising this authority in this
case so that he can remain in this country.

And I am instructing the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to accept immediately and to adjudicate, once the
necessary regulations become effective, the "T" category visa
application that his guardians have submitted on his behalf
and to take no action to remove this child from the United
States. The T visa was authorized by the Human Trafficking
Victims Protection Act for victims of severe forms of human
trafficking.

In March, I announced that combating the scourge of human
trafficking would be a priority of this Justice Department. We
issued guidance to federal prosecutors describing the new
crimes under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and
urging coordination among U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Civil
Rights and Criminal Division here of the Department of Justice
in Washington, D.C.

And just last week I announced the next step toward
fulfilling our responsibility under the law. Together, the
Department of Justice and the Department of State issued a
regulation that instructs federal law enforcement personnel,
immigration officials, and Department of State officials to
provide victims of human trafficking with legal protections
and other assistance as their cases are investigated and
prosecuted.

Since the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Act, it has become apparent how urgently these measures are
needed. The Department of Justice has encountered a large
number of individuals who need protection from retaliation and
continued victimization by predators who traffic them into the
United States. Other victims need assistance in recovering
from the trauma of having been brought here as prostitutes or
forced laborers.

Human trafficking is a serious violation of the law. It
is an affront to human dignity. The Department of Justice is
determined not to stand idly by while the toll in human
suffering mounts. Human trafficking victims are too often
people like Got - too young, too frightened and too trapped
in their circumstances to speak for themselves. By setting
high standards of conduct for federal officials in meeting the
needs of these victims, we hope to be the victims' voice, to
lessen the suffering, to prosecute those who commit these
crimes to the fullest extent of the law.